American Broadcast Network
The American Broadcast Network (known as ABN)' '''is an American public broadcasting television network. The company was founded in 1964 succeeding American Television Company, and Champion Television Group. It was run by Sabana-Winston Television Distribution in 1964. Sabana-Winston Television Distribution was rebranded as Sabana American Broadcast Holdings (or SABH) in 1985 until 2014 and is part of the ABN Domestic Television Corporation. SABH recently became rebranded as Champion Digital Broadcasting. It is the de facto member of Sabana Global Broadcast Services (SGBS) representing North America and U.S. Territories. ABN operates the 24-hour motorsports cable network, The Racing Channel (TRC) under the ABN Sports banner. The company also operates the national cable news network, ABN News. ABN.com is the network's primary Internet web page with links to their respected divisions' web pages including TRC3.com, a live interactive web streaming service for out-of-market viewers. ABN's headquarters are located in Seattle, Washington for coverage in the Western United States with a branch campus in Charlotte, North Carolina that covers the Eastern United States. After the construction of the newly erected NASCAR Plaza in downtown Charlotte in 2008, ABN moved to set up the new WABN studios into the new building at 550 South Caldwell Street. Each campus houses the different division of Champion Digital Broadcasting including ABN, ABN Women, ABN Maxx, The Racing Channel, UBC, G-ABN and Mundovision among others. Both campuses also house the ABN Animation Network, Altitude Game Studios, ABN Digital Entertainment and Sabana Global Broadcasting Services. The two campuses each house KABN and WABN for the west and east coast feeds. Due to length limitations in Seattle and Charlotte, two main truck terminals nearby the campuses were built to accommodate them. Expansion 1980 - ABN starts expanding into Holman Union beginning with station BHSNV-TV. 1981 - ABN forms SGBS to distribute programming to 20 countires and territories. 1988 - ABN begins expanding into Dahrconian territory with the first ABN station, DNABE-TV in Starfire City. 1995 - ABN begins high defnition expansion fully implementing HD programming in 1997. 2005 - ABN begins ultra high definition expansion fully implementing Ultra HD programming in 2014. 2008 - ABN goes into full digital HD prgramming one year before the analog to digital transition. 2011 - ABN makes plans to expand into New Tokyo, home of the Pokemon universe beginning in the Kanto region further expanding into the Johto, Sinnoh, Kalos and Unova regions. 2013 - Equestria, Quilava City, Inkopolis, Umi City, Townsville, Torchic City, Hundred Acre Wood, Hyrule all added to ABN's expanding coverage. 2014 - Slobakia, Saniel, Wahnatania Island, 2015 - ABN begins expansion into the Cheyenna Republic. 2016 - ABN begins Hyper HD expansion to be fully implemented in 2017. Competition with other networks ABN's mainly competes with major and mid-major networks like DuMont, RDN, DBC, Acme, UDC, XYZ, Pax TV, and Omni Broadcasting Network. There is no direct competition between ABN and other major networks like ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, The CW, PBS, Ion Television, MyNetworkTV and. The network on some occasions will work directly with those who are not among ABN's chief competitors, ABN station WBRP destroyed Baltimore ABN television station WBRP was the unfortunate site of the April 27-May 2 riots as a result of Mr. Freddie Gray who died as a result of a broken spinal column towards his neck area while being transported by Baltimore city police officers. Gray was arrested the week before his death on April 19th in Baltimore, but the legacy of this insurrection is greatly heartfelt. The entire WBRP building was gutted from inside and outside. Equipment was damaged beyond repair. The Ultra HD studio was set ablaze, the newsroom gutted, the digital video archives of over 6,000 news events covered by WBRP over the years now gone without a trace. Several staff members of WBRP were severely injured or killed during the rioting in Baltimore. ABN's closest competitors in the city also were affected by the rioting, looting and civil unrest by several protesters inciting violence, combating police in SWAT and riot gear, damaging 200 small businesses who cannot commence in commercial practice in Baltimore, school children caught in the crosshairs, one mother's desperation to save her son from becoming a part of the miscreants involved in the insurrection, and a desperate motive to find answers. The building suffered significant structural damage and collapsed while firefighters battled the blaze. Nothing from WBRP could be saved. The building located near the area where Mr. Freddie Gray was put into custody was deemed a total loss. Even their digital transmitters from nearby suffered significant structural damage from the rioters. Of the WBRP staff killed as a result of the riots: * Shaniah Walsh, news director, age 28, University of Miami graduate in broadcasting, 4-year Baltimore resident * Christopher Candice, associate news editor, age 55, University of Maryland School of Journalism graduate from 1979, member of the National Association of News Journalists, 20-year Baltimore resident * John Hicks-Wynman, videographer, age 22, University of Maryland School of Journalism graduate from 2011, 7-year Baltimore resident * Fred Tamby, reporter, age 43, University of Montana School of Journalism graduate from 1988, 15-year Baltimore resident * Thomas Trauncy, WBRP station manager, age 61, University of Baltimore-Maryland graduate from 1973, 35-year Baltimore resident * James McFadden, WBRP 6 and 11 PM sportscaster and chief sports editor, University of Massachusetts graduate from 1980, 25-year Baltimore resident Of the WBRP staff injured as a result of the riots, 15 were sent to Baltimore hospitals; the range of injuries include minor to fatal (5 minor, 4 sustainable, 2 fatal). ABN CEO Billy Fortner and Champion Digital Broadcasting COO Taylor Winston shared their thoughts on a May 4th appearance of an ABN News program: ''Fortner: I am befuddled, shocked beyond any kind of belief, nothing in this kind of circumstance can quell the anger I have for those miscreants who decided it was okay to do this just because they thought the mayor of Baltimore thought it was okay, by which of no means whatsoever it was. This is the darkest days of American history we are witnessing and one of our own working for our affiliate in Baltimore has lost a score of people who were doing their damnest to get out of this no-win situation while covering the riots. The building is completely destroyed, nothing to save, nothing to recover. All there is left of the WBRP building is charred remains, twisted metal, broken concrete, all pieces of a television family now shattered and scarred forever of this sheer lunacy from those people who performed this sort of insurrection in the city of Baltimore. I can't believe this has happened and as a CEO of American Broadcast Network, I dare anyone to find an excuse for this because there is none. Our president said it best. Like him or hate him all you want, but to emphasize his words, "this is not excusable". There is no excuse to be found in this incident and I pray for the people of Baltimore and the state of Maryland to seek the truth! Seek the truth! Not seek opinions. Opinions are what the mainstream media shindigs like Fox News use all the time. We are about the truth! And until they accept the truth, we will continue to bring the truth to the people of Baltimore, Maryland and this whole country as we try to find ways to move forward from this and try to finish the rest of 2015 as peaceful as we can. Several other members of the WBRP staff who were not directly involved had since gone on to work for other nearby stations in Trenton, New Jersey, New York City, Boston, Chicago, and Milwaukee. Taylor Winston says we have lost a great television family in Baltimore. The legacy of WBRP is now being carried forward thanks to many of our other fellow stations nearby and far away reaching out to the members of WBRP affected by this tragedy. They were not the result of Mr. Freddie Gray's death. They were not the smoking gun. But they were thrust into a scene of chaos and insurrection and some paid the ultimate price. Those resonsible for the attrocities committed in Baltimore must pay dearly for their crimes against humanity's finest citizens. We will move forward. We're America's Most Trusted Television Leader because we're about the truth, not about the opinions from mainstream news, sports and meteorological media. We seek the one and only truth that the Good Lord from above has shown in years past. We strive to bring the truth to the American people. We urge of you to continue supporting American Broadcast Network as we surge forward into better days ahead. Let us not repeat the examples of these people who performed these cowardess, duplicitous, collective lawlessness leaving the city of Baltimore broken. But we know they will rebuild. We know what we must do. We must do what is humanly possible to continue living our lives in spite of the cringing circumstances before us. This is why we are here. And for Baltimore, we will do what is necessary to raise WBRP back from the brink, but if it cannot be possible, then we must move on and make America find their inner being with the Good Lord above. It is the best that we can do now. WBRP viewers were urged to use the hashtag "#WeAreWBRP" in support of rebuilding the station on their social media outlets including FlickTV. While the new station north of the city was built, ABN loaned their Ultra HD production vehicle to WBRP to continue broadcasting during the construction. ABN stations across the country rallied together for a fundraiser event. Proceeds from the ABN Hot Summer Nights Concert Series were utilized in rebuilding WBRP. ABN viewers were urged to visit ABN.com and click "Help WBRP" on the main page. ABN's networks and the Champion Digital Broadcasting team are working together to rebuild what the rioters in Baltimore destroyed. In mid-August, WBRP began their first broadcast from their new studios in northern Baltimore away from the site of the riots. Category:Fictional television networks Category:Seattle, WA Category:Charlotte, NC Category:Washington Category:North Carolina